Thursday will also offer more corporate results to help gauge the health of the U.S. economy. Rite Aid reported quarterly results before the bell in line with expectations, and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) will announce its results after markets close.

Shares of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) fell more than 3% after the company said it had activated an oil spill response vessel to investigate a "light sheen" of oil spotted in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sony (SNE) said Thursday that it would be cutting 10,000 jobs during the 2012 fiscal year as it seeks to revitalize its struggling business. The electronics maker warned earlier this week that its annual loss would be twice as large as its prior forecast, blaming write-offs of deferred tax credits.

Oaktree Capital Group (OAK) will start trading under the ticker OAK after the asset management firm raised $378 million through an initial public offering Wednesday. Oaktree sold 8.8 million shares at $43 apiece, the low end of its estimated range.

World markets: European stocks were little changed in afternooon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) was down 0.3%, while the DAX (DAX) in Germany gained 0.01% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) ticked down by 0.04%. All were down from earlier trading.